Easy Paper Daisy: A First Flower in About 15 Minutes

An easy paper daisy is two white circles snipped into petals, stacked off-center from each other, with a yellow disc glued in the middle. There is no template to print and no petal to cut out one at a time, which is why it works so well as a very first flower. Most beginners can expect to finish one in roughly a quarter of an hour, and later ones go faster.

Gather this before you start

• White paper: 65 lb cardstock or a sturdy 120 gsm text-weight sheet
• A scrap of yellow paper for the center
• Something round to trace, about 3 inches (7.5 cm) across, such as a jar lid or a cup
• Something smaller to trace for the center, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) across, such as a bottle cap or a coin
• A pencil, scissors and tacky craft glue or a glue stick
• Optional: a wooden skewer or the pencil itself for curling petals

Cardstock gives a crisp daisy that keeps its shape. Text-weight paper is easier for small hands to cut and makes a softer flower. Thin printer paper works for practice but tends to go limp. If the craft drawer is still empty, the beginner’s checklist of materials and tools sorts what is worth buying first from what can wait.

A rough time plan

The times below are loose estimates for a first attempt, offered only to show where the minutes go.

Stage	What happens	Rough time
Trace and cut circles	Two white circles, one yellow disc	About 3 minutes
Cut the petals	Twelve snips per circle, then rounding	About 6 minutes
Shape	Curl or crease each petal	About 3 minutes
Assemble	Stack, glue, add the center	About 3 minutes

Cutting the petals with the clock trick

The only part that needs any thought is dividing a circle into even petals without measuring. Picture the circle as a clock face.

1. Trace and cut two white circles. Both should be the same size. Cut the yellow center disc at the same time and set it aside.
2. Mark the middle. Lightly trace the small round object in the center of each white circle. This pencil ring is the stop line; no cut should cross it.
3. Cut at 12, 3, 6 and 9. Snip straight in from the edge to the stop line at the four main clock positions. The circle now has four equal quarters.
4. Cut each quarter into three. Make two more evenly spaced snips in each quarter. That gives twelve petals per circle.
5. Round the tips. Trim the two square corners off the end of every petal so each one finishes in a soft curve. Then widen each cut into a narrow V so the petals stand slightly apart.

Shaping and putting it together

1. Give the petals some life. Choose one: pull each petal gently over a skewer so it curls upward, or pinch a light crease down the middle of each one. Curled petals look soft; creased petals look crisp.
2. Stack the circles off-center from each other. Put a dot of glue in the middle of one circle and press the second on top, turned so its petals sit over the gaps of the layer below.
3. Add the center. Glue the yellow disc over the pencil ring, which hides it completely. Press for a few seconds.
4. Lift the top layer. Once the glue has set, bend the top petals up a little at their bases so the daisy has depth instead of lying flat.

Four ways to change the center

• Dotted. Press the tip of a pencil into the yellow disc from the back, over a soft surface, to raise small bumps.
• Fringed. Cut a yellow strip about half an inch by 6 inches (1.3 x 15 cm), snip a fine fringe along one edge, roll it up and glue it in place of the flat disc.
• Domed. Cut a slit from the edge of the disc to its middle, overlap the cut edges slightly and glue, forming a shallow cone.
• Layered. Glue a smaller orange disc on top of the yellow one.

The fringed version is a small preview of the technique used for the center of a paper sunflower, a good second project once the daisy feels comfortable.

Making daisies with children

This flower suits a mixed-age table because the jobs divide easily. An adult or older child can trace and cut the circles; younger children can round the petal tips with blunt-ended safety scissors, choose the centers and do the gluing with a glue stick. Keep sharp scissors and pointed skewers with the adults, and skip hot glue entirely for this project, since ordinary craft glue holds flat paper layers without any trouble.

When something goes sideways

A petal got cut off

A snip went past the stop line. Glue the loose petal back under the center disc; the join will not show.

The daisy looks like a pinwheel

The petal tips are still square. Round them more, and widen the V between petals.

The layers will not stay turned

Wet glue lets the top circle spin. Hold it in position for a slow count of ten, or use a glue stick, which grabs faster on flat paper.

Where to use a finished daisy

Because the back is flat, this daisy sticks to almost anything. A few ideas:

• Glue one to the front of a blank card or a gift tag.
• Tape a green paper straw or a wrapped wire to the back for a stem and stand several in a small jar.
• Make a dozen in two sizes and string them into a paper flower garland for a shelf or window.
• Scale the circles down to 1.5 inches (4 cm) for cupcake picks or napkin rings.

Changing the paper color changes the flower: yellow petals with a brown center suggest a black-eyed Susan, and pink or lilac petals make a simple cosmos. For a wider view of what to try after this, the overview of paper flowers for beginners lays out a sensible order of first projects.